Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue & Gold
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Ian Churchill (penciler), Minor/Elliott/Candelario (inkers), Dave Sharpe & Jon Babcock (letterers), Chris Matthys (colorist)
Summary
While going through her old clothes, Jubilee tells Jean that she doesn’t understand the appeal of marriage. When Jean leaves to pick up her wedding dress, Jubilee finds her old diary and begins reading it. Jubilee reads about Jean’s early days with Xavier, and the evolution of her relationship with Cyclops. When she sees Jean again, Jubilee confesses to reading her diary and apologizes. She tells Jean that after learning about her history with Cyclops, she takes back what she said about marriage, and Jean invites her to look at the dress.
Production Note
This is a magazine-format special released at the same time as the wedding. The first half is a story about Jubilee that takes place before the wedding, and the second half is a series of pinups that take place after the wedding. As a kid, this bothered me because I didn’t know whether to file this book before or after X-Men #30.
Review
Wow, not only did the Marvel of 1994 not have a problem with two of their “grown-up” teenage characters getting married, but they also published a special edition magazine to promote the event. Imagine that. There’s not an awful lot of content here, but the Jubilee story isn’t that bad. I like the fact that Jubilee is still bratty enough to read someone else’s diary, even if she does suddenly feel remorseful later. Jubilee’s sudden guilt doesn’t really make a lot of sense given her earlier eagerness to read the diary, but I like Lobdell’s premise that Jubilee never learned about relationships from her parents so she looks to the X-Men for guidance. Most of the flashback scenes are well chosen, and help to sell the idea that Scott and Jean were “meant” to be together. For some reason, the final flashback scene is Jean meeting Wolverine for the first time, which is an odd choice for a story meant to build up her relationship to someone else. Churchill’s art is inconsistent, but he pulls off an okay cartoony look on a few pages. The rest of the issue consists of pinups of the X-Men in tuxedoes hanging out at the wedding reception. This type of stuff would have been better suited as annual filler, really.
I loved this as a kid! Yeah, the story was filler, but it was fun at the time for what it was. Some of the pinups at the back weren't so good, but I remember the Andy Kubert shots of guests at the wedding (I think filming a video for Scott and Jean?) that were quite fun. One thing that I've always enjoyed was the (dumb) idea that Nicole Miller designed Jean's dress, complete with a fake letter from her to Jean in this special.
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